What are some of your best cost-saving measures (drum related)?

PorkPieGuy

PorkPieGuy

Platinum Member
With my family's food budget quadrupling over the past couple of years (in addition to everything else), I've started some cost-cutting measures when it comes to gear. Here are a few things I've done:

  • Any road case for my equipment comes from Harbor Freight as do any tools I need for drum repairs and maintenance.
  • I've stopped buying memory locks for my kits. I now use hose clamps. These work really well and last forever. As a bonus, they are MUCH easier to use on vintage kits because there's such a small space between the floor tom leg and the bottom hoop. Many traditional memory locks won't work, but hose clamps are great.
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  • Right now, I'm in the middle of making my own "Booty Shaker" suspension mounts for all of my floor tom legs because it makes such a big difference in sound. I'm using small pieces of foam and zip ties as opposed to spending $30 on three pieces of foam.

  • I've stopped buying stick wrap from the music store because it's expensive and the product is simply horrible; it doesn't last more than a few hours of playing. Now, I buy Ahead tennis racquet wrap from walmart, and it's enough to wrap 3 pairs of drum sticks for about $3 which is just a fraction of the cost of traditional stick wrap, and it lasts MUCH longer.
  • I love the Snareweight M80, but they are $30/each, and I've actually had a 2-3 of these end up with bent clips due to traveling, and now they aren't much good without a binder clip holding them in place. So, I've started making my own using scrap leather from Hobby Lobby, cutting them with a Cricut, and fastening them to the rim with a binder clip. They don't have the magnets in them, but I never need them. Here's a video I made of them.
How about you? What are some of your best cost-saving measures when it comes to drum gear?View attachment 149697
 
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tris66 said:
I've started skinning roadkill and tanning the hides to make my own heads.
No, that's not true. Yet.
I'm going to have to try your DIY snare muffler.... without roadkill leather.
Click to expand...

You can also clip any sort of small towel or handkerchief as well.
 
I have figured out a way to make drum keys....out of Jello and Pipe Cleaners....Really?......no.
Fix instead of replace.
 
For those who use gels, there is a super-cheap way to accomplish the same thing and utilize larger sizes than the popular blue gels.

Use window clings that are available at the 'dollar' stores and other discount stores (Big Lots, etc.) The blue gels are shown for comparison, and while some of the cheap gels are small or shaped weird, there are also larger clings (great for floor toms!) The Big Lots flag gels are really cool because of their length to curve around the edge of a head.

BIG difference between $1.25-2.00 for a package of clings, and $7.99+ for 4 small blue gels.

gel_assorted.jpg

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And in order to keep them fresh and clean, grab some $1.25 storage boxes!


gel_boxes.jpg
 
Something simple that I've started doing. For my acoustic rock trio, I am making firth 7A wood tips work instead of a more pricey signature model I prefer the sound of. The listeners can't distinguish the difference and I can get the 4 pairs for the price of 3 deal. $50 compared to $60. Small savings but its something I'm doing. $10 is$10.
 
The small stuff. Instead of buying Simon Phillips signature model for 21 USD/pair, I get the Millennium DW Fusion hickory, which is very close in weight, diameter, thickness, taper and tip for 7 USD/pair.

thomann.de

Millenium DW Fusion Hickory -Wood-

Drum Sticks Fusion, Hickory wood, Wood head in oval design, Suitable for all styles: fusion, funk, jazz, studio, pop, Very balanced extra long stick for a solid feel, Length: 412 mm, Diameter: 14.3 mm
thomann.de thomann.de
 
I do the hose clamp thing for memory locks too. They work great on floor tom legs as well.

I stumbled upon this one years ago strolling through a sporting goods store...a storage tube for paintballs makes a good stick holder, zip-tied to the hi-hat stand.

I also primarily use nylon tipped sticks because I like the clarity and they last longer than wood tips.
 
I've stopped playing out every chance I get. If there's pay, it's minimal and doesn't even cover my bar tab. I've posted before my stick maintenance routine that makes sticks last probably four or five times longer than if I just use them without the maintenance routine. I'm coming up on having to use the hair drier trick on my snare batter soon too
 
PorkPieGuy said:
Right now, I'm in the middle of making my own "Booty Shaker" suspension mounts for all of my floor tom legs because it makes such a big difference in sound. I'm using small pieces of foam and zip ties as opposed to spending $30 on three pieces of foam.
Click to expand...
Gibraltar floating feet are $5 for a set of three, if that’s what you’re referring to. They work great.
 
Rock Salad said:
I've stopped playing out every chance I get. If there's pay, it's minimal and doesn't even cover my bar tab. I've posted before my stick maintenance routine that makes sticks last probably four or five times longer than if I just use them without the maintenance routine. I'm coming up on having to use the hair drier trick on my snare batter soon too
Click to expand...
Bar tab? I would sneak shots in before I would pay to drink where I’m playing at. We’d pack a guitar case full of beer too. Ahhh the 80s
 
Duck Tape said:
You should have accumulated enough gear in the past that you no longer need to buy anything.
Click to expand...
There are still consumables such as heads, sticks, possibly cymbals.
 
I keep an eye open for deals and stock up. Nothing wrong with having extra heads and sticks in the closet. 22" Emad with free 14" coated G1 at drummingdeals dot com right now. $40. 2 left.
I also go to @Bo Eder 's wife's garage sales when he is the slammer.
 
Trying out Rohema sticks pretty soon, a German brand. They are quite a bit cheaper than my regular Vic Firths, I just hope I can manage the possible different feel.
 
—-Window clingies a la Bermuda.

—-Cutting out my o rings from old heads.

—-Almost everything I have was used except for heads, sticks, occasionally hardware, and a cymbal I got a couple weeks ago.

—-I shop for alternatives to the more expensive cymbals on the used market, except for the cymbal I bought a couple weeks ago. Turns out there’s nothing I could find in a dark crash I liked as much as the K Custom Dark crash . I tried, though.
 
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